Species count down at Stanford’s Lake Lagunita as dry spring drives animals away

Pacific Chorus Frogs are just one of Lake Lagunita’s amphibian species whose breeding success declines in dry years. (Photo: Holly Moeller/ Peninsula Press)

From all across the Peninsula they came: High schoolers from Menlo Park, mothers from San Jose, and students from Stanford joining together to count the species at Stanford’s Lake Lagunita during the university’s annual BioBlitz event.

Along their trek, the nearly 50 volunteers noted many common animal species, but some of the water-dependent creatures were notably missing, including the California tiger salamander. Literally the poster child of the event, the salamander eluded detection on the driest year the peninsula has seen in almost four decades.

Last year, volunteers tallied over 100 species of plants and animals on BioBlitz day. “People are astounded when I tell them we’ve found over fifty species of birds here,” said Kate Lowry, an oceanography graduate student at Stanford who helps organize the survey of campus biodiversity each year. Continue Reading >>